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Today in Washington: House Republicans fight over change to ObamaCare

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Flanked by conservative lawmakers, Ken Hoagland, chairman of the Repeal It Now.org campaign, center, criticizes President Obama's national heath care plan, often called "Obamacare," Oct. 5, 2011, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. House Republicans today will try to alter one portion of the landmark heathcare law.
((AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite))

Washington -- The House of Representatives is due to vote today on a Republican-sponsored bill that would alter the Affordable Care Act by moving money to insurance programs for high-risk people with pre-existing conditions.

But as the vote approached, Republicans were not sure they had enough votes to pass the measure, which is opposed by the White House and the right-leaning Club for Growth and Heritage Foundation.

The bill supported by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor would transfer almost $4 billion from a fund set up for health care prevention services to an insurance fund for pre-existing conditions.

Democrats have unanimously opposed the bill as it made its way through committees. “We don’t think much of this bill,” said House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md. “It is a zero sum game and undermines a fund that we think is very important, and may not serve very many people but may hurt a lot of people.”

In the unlikely event the Helping Sick Americans Now Act is passed by both the House and the Democratic-controlled Senate, the White House said Tuesday the president would likely veto the legislation.

"While the administration would like to extend coverage to as many Americans as possible, rather than finding common ground on a funding source, this legislation effectively would repeal part of the Affordable Care Act," the White House said in a statement.